Chapter 323: A Plot to Kill
Chapter 323: A Plot to Kill
Elder An took a sip of his tea before continuing, "Back then, when the An family was competing with the Qian family for profits, we didn't start off at a disadvantage."
"Initially, both families had their fair share of victories and defeats. But the Qian family was greedy, and their disciples were mostly self-serving. In contrast, our An family was harmonious and united. We didn't exploit others as severely as the Qian family did. Gradually, we gained the upper hand in the competition."
"At that time, more than half of the alchemy and pill refining businesses in Tongxian City were under the control of our An family. The Qian family was on the verge of defeat..."
"Did something unexpected happen?" Mo Hua asked.
Elder An nodded, sighing heavily as he replied, "Yes, there was a major setback. Our family took on a big job..."
"It was the biggest deal our An family had ever taken on. We just needed to complete this transaction, and the Qian family wouldn't be able to challenge us for a hundred years."
"We had everything prepared. As long as we could safely transport the goods out of Tongxian City and deliver them to Runan City not far from here, the deal would be considered a success."
"That's why I specially arranged for our only Foundation Establishment elder to lead the mission, along with fifty elite disciples as escorts. Two hundred An family cultivators also accompanied them."
"Even the Qian family wouldn't dare to underestimate the strength of these cultivators. Moreover, the Qian family wouldn't be so bold as to directly confront us. Such a move would result in heavy casualties and would definitely not be worth it."
"I thought I had considered every possibility and made thorough preparations, but I never expected... I never expected..."
Elder An's face contorted with regret and pain.
"...I never expected that once they entered Daheshan Mountain, not a single one of them returned!"
"None of them came back!"
"They all vanished in Daheshan Mountain!"
Elder An's face twitched as his emotions surged.
Mo Hua quickly poured him a cup of tea. After taking a sip, Elder An calmed down and nodded slightly before continuing, "This wasn't just a blow to our strength; it struck at the very foundation of the An family. It was like having a piece of flesh torn from my heart!"
"Later, I ventured into Daheshan Mountain myself, but no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find our elder or any of our disciples. It was as if they had vanished from the face of the earth."
"I even took the risk of venturing deeper into the mountain, but the mist was thick, and I couldn't find any clues. I didn't dare to go too far, so I turned back."
"Did you suspect the Qian family?" Mo Hua asked quietly.
Elder An nodded. "They were the first ones I suspected."
"But I kept an eye on them, and on the day our disciples entered the mountain, the Qian family's ancestor and most of their Foundation Establishment elders were not away on a trip, nor had they entered Daheshan Mountain. They didn't have the opportunity to harm my An family..."
"But I know for certain that the Qian family was behind this!"
Elder An gritted his teeth, his eyes cold.
Mo Hua asked quietly, "How do you know?"
Elder An hesitated. He didn't want to involve Mo Hua in this matter, but it seemed that the young man already knew something. Moreover, these were old events, and it was unlikely that any new developments would come to light.
"Initially, I wasn't sure if the Qian family was involved," Elder An admitted. "But later, because of a pill furnace, a rift formed between our families once again."
"Even though our An family had been greatly weakened, we didn't want to back down. So we stood up to the Qian family, but their ancestor said something to me..."
"'No one can compete with the Qian family. In Daheshan Mountain, whoever I want to disappear will disappear...'"
Elder An sighed heavily. "From then on, I knew that the Qian family was responsible for everything. Their strength was greater, and their methods more ruthless than I had imagined."
"I wanted to bring about mutual destruction between our families, but the other disciples of the An family still wanted to live. If we went all out against the Qian family, they might not suffer any consequences, but our An family could very well disappear..."
"Do you know," Mo Hua asked, his eyes narrowing, "what the Qian family did?"
Elder An shook his head, his eyes narrowing as well. "You know?"
Mo Hua nodded.
Elder An was shocked. "How do you know?"
"Do you know about Heishan Fortress?" Mo Hua asked.
Elder An nodded slightly. "I've heard that it was a group of evil cultivators hiding in the depths of the mountains. They were recently eradicated by the Dao soldiers."
Elder An paused, and then asked, "Are you saying..."
Mo Hua nodded. "Heishan Fortress was secretly created by the Qian family's ancestor. The disciples of your An family were probably killed by the evil cultivators from Heishan Fortress. This way, the Qian family's ancestor didn't need to get directly involved, and he could keep his hands clean."
These disciples of his weren't directly killed by the Qian family, but they had indeed met their end at the hands of someone connected to the Qian clan.
Elder An's eyes narrowed. "You didn't come here just to tell me this, did you?"
"I wanted to confirm with you the connection between the Qian family's ancestor and Heishan Fortress, and also to ask if you want revenge."
Elder An's gaze turned steely. "Revenge?"
Mo Hua nodded. "The ancestor of the Qian family has extended his life by consuming the Human Longevity Pill, and he will live for a long time yet. If he continues to live, he will eventually become a great calamity, so we must strike first."
Elder An considered this. "How many people do we have?"
"Quite a lot," Mo Hua replied, briefly recounting the forces they had at their disposal, including the Demon Hunters, the Daoting Court, and the Daobing Court.
Without hesitation, Elder An declared, "Good! Consider the An family in on this!"
"As long as that old dog of the Qian family lives, there will never be peace in Tongxian City!"
Mo Hua had initially only intended to gather information and find evidence of the connection between the Qian family's ancestor and Heishan Fortress. He hadn't expected the deep-seated grudge between the An and Qian families, nor had he anticipated that Elder An would be so willing to lend his aid. This was an unexpected but welcome development.
When Mo Hua informed Elder Yu about this turn of events, the latter breathed a sigh of relief.
Although the An family had declined in influence, they were still the second family of Tongxian City, and having their help increased their chances of success against the Qian family.
Another hour passed, and Zhang Lan and Mo Shan returned.
Elder Yu asked, "How did it go?"
Zhang Lan nodded. "We found someone who pretended to be a rogue cultivator and spoke to the second-in-command. When we mentioned other matters, he didn't react."
"But when we said, 'The chief is already dead,' the second-in-command opened his eyes and coldly scoffed, saying it was impossible. We also said, 'The fortress lord is also dead,' and he sneered, finding it even more improbable."
"This proves that there is indeed a fortress lord in Heishan Fortress, and he is not the same person as the chief!"
Mo Hua then relayed Elder An's words and asked Yang Jiyong, "Is this evidence sufficient?"
Yang Jiyong pondered for a moment. "It's not entirely conclusive, but it will have to do. When it comes to rogue cultivators, we'd rather err on the side of caution and eliminate them. If we delay any further and the Qian family gets wind of this, we'll lose our advantage."
Elder Yu nodded in agreement. "Whether the fortress lord of Heishan Fortress is the ancestor of the Qian family or not, we'll find out when we make our move."
"If he is, we'll kill him on the spot!"
"And if he isn't, I'll apologize to the Qian family. It's not a loss for me anyway, as I've never shied away from criticizing them in the past."
Yang Jiyong nodded. "In that case, let's finalize our plan and infiltrate the Qian family to eliminate their ancestor!"
For the next day, the group discussed their strategy.
As evening fell, Elder An arrived, clad in black, to join them quietly.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Elder An shared some confidential information about the Qian family, including their terrain, the cultivation techniques practiced by their ancestor, his understanding of Daoist magic, and his typical combat methods.
Mo Hua listened intently, as he was unfamiliar with the intricacies of Foundation Establishment cultivators and their spiritual energy manipulation. He had no idea how to kill such a powerful opponent.
His own abilities were insufficient to harm a cultivator at that level.
The only potential way he could inflict damage was through his spiritual sense calculations, causing the array to collapse.
However, recalculating the array was a time-consuming process, and Mo Hua, preoccupied with investigating the Qian family's ancestor, had neither completed the calculations nor tested them in practice, rendering it useless for now.
For the moment, Mo Hua could only listen and learn:
How to design a plan to eliminate a powerful enemy cultivator.
How to assess the opponent's strength, including their cultivation level, techniques, Daoist magic, and spiritual artifacts.
Estimating the strength required to ensure a successful assassination.
How to allocate and command their forces, playing to their strengths and exploiting the enemy's weaknesses to minimize casualties.
Whether it was Yang Jiyong, the commander of the Daoist soldiers, Zhang Lan, with his family's knowledge, the experienced Elder Yu, or the battle-hardened Mo Shan, they all had their strengths in such matters, and their diverse perspectives complemented each other.
As they discussed and debated their approaches, Mo Hua observed and listened quietly, committing everything to memory and slowly digesting the information, adapting it for his own use.
He might not need this knowledge now, but someday, it could prove invaluable.
After two days and one night of meticulous planning, everything was set.
The operation to eliminate the Qian family's ancestor had officially begun.
(End of Chapter)
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